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The camelhair coat worn by Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) shines as brilliantly as anything seen in J.C. Chador's A Most Violent Year. The coat is merely the golden tan of most such garments. The New York of A Most Violent Year - interior and exterior - pales by comparison. It's 1981, and a most violent year indeed in and around the great metropolis. Almost none of filth of Abel's world - the fuel oil of his business, the frowning elements, dirt kicked up by a vehicle chase - seem to adhere to the impeccable coat. But as he tries to make a major expansion of his business while attempting to fend off the grip and violence of gangsterism one one side and encroaching law enforcment on the other, the poised, well dressed man is sorely pressed to keep himself clean in the most profound of respects.

A Most Violent Year is a sprawling American story told revealing small. The canvas is certainly large, even if spread with muted color. Much of the action of the film takes place…